Denis Villeneuve’s ‘Incendies’ gets Oscar nod

Quebec director was ecstatic about his nomination.

by Jennifer Cox Jan 28th, 2011

Denis Villeneuve’s flick "Incendies" received an Oscar nomination yesterday for Best Foreign Film.

Villeneuve said he was thrilled just to be considered for nomination. "We decided to open a bottle of champagne at about midnight [the night before nominations were announced], just to celebrate the fact we were here, and in this position, no matter what happened. But I couldn’t sleep. I think if I were a 65-year-old man, I would have died of a heart attack. I don’t think I’ve ever felt stress like this before," the Quebec director told Postmedia News.

Denis Villeneuve joined a conference call with Canadian media just after the Oscar noms were released. "I don’t believe it yet," he said to QMI Agency. "I wasn’t prepared for this, so when I think about it, I’m very emotional. Also, I didn’t sleep at all. I’m exhausted, overwhelmed, happy, but I have no distance on this yet. I just found out a few minutes ago."

Villeneuve’s film is up against four others – "Biutiful" from Mexico, Danish movie "In a Better World", "Dogtooth" from Greece, and "Outside the Law" from Algeria. "Incendies" follows the story of twin sisters who are in search of their estranged father and brother as they try to fulfill their mother’s last wish before she dies.

"Incendies" was listed as one of the Top 5 best foreign films by the U.S. National Board of Review, and Villeneuve, who has already been honoured with both Genie and Jutra Awards, made Variety’s coveted list of the 10 Directors To Watch as well.

The Oscars will be held on February 27th at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.